


The Forest

by TylerAndAlexAndCeddyOhMy



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Elves, M/M, Magical Realism, Minor Character Death, Sexy Times, There is probably a ton more I could tag but brain broke, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:27:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26937355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TylerAndAlexAndCeddyOhMy/pseuds/TylerAndAlexAndCeddyOhMy
Summary: After his Elven King father is murdered while on a diplomatic visit Andrej and fellow Elves, Jan and Ondrej, have to escape Onterio and return to their people in the Forest.
Relationships: Alex Killorn/Andrej Sustr, Jan Rutta/Erik Cernak, Tyler Johnson/Ondrej Palat
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13
Collections: Lightning Strike to the Heart 2020





	The Forest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darkone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkone/gifts).



> Hi! Once again I wrote something ridiculously long! I hope you love it!
> 
> I immediately regretted writing both Andrej and Ondrej because of name similarities but hey, Elves (Czechs?) have got to stick together. 
> 
> The random “Elvish” throughout is just Czech but here are the important ones. 
> 
> Peklo- hell  
> Můj Král - my King  
> Můj Princi - my Prince  
> Vévoda - directly translated its Duke but it means more to Elves, Jan and Ondrej are Andrej’s Vévoda, meaning his confidants, advisors, assistants, etc.

“Where the peklo is Drej?” Andrej asked Jan when he walked in. Andrej opened the wardrobe door in Ondrej’s room, as though he might be hiding inside. 

Jan snorted. “Probably off with that short Duke again.”

Andrej stopped and frowned. He’d noticed the Duke of Coeur d'Alene hanging around all week but he hadn't realized Drej had been seeing him like  _ that.  _

“Do you know where his room is? My father requested everyone’s presence in the counsel room while he speaks to King Bill and we’re already late.”

Jan shook his head and gestured to the door. “Better we’re there than none of us.”

Andrej agreed. “We had better hurry.”

They set off down the hallway and as they rounded the corner they ran headlong into Ondrej and the Duke. 

“There you are!” Andrej started before his mouth was covered, somehow, by the Duke and pushed around the corner. 

Ondrej shushed him. “We must leave. Now,” Ondrej whispered. “Your- your father. They killed him.”

Andrej was in shock and tried to question what Drej was talking about, but the surprisingly strong Duke was still reaching up to forcefully cover his mouth. 

“Maybe we should take this conversation out of the hallway, maybe somewhere a little more secure.”

Andrej startled when the man behind Ondrej spoke, he hadn’t even noticed him there. His hair and clothes were dark and he had faded into the late afternoon shadows in the corridor. 

The Duke reached over and tried the door handle next to them with his free hand. When he found it open he all but shoved Andrej through the door. 

“What the kurva are you talking about?” Andrej demanded of Ondrej, abet quieter than he would have liked to. 

“It’s true, we saw with our own eyes,” the Duke said. 

Andrej ignored him and stared at Ondrej, waiting for him to answer. 

Ondrej was overcome, his eyes filling with tears. The Duke reached over to comfort him and Andrej wanted to smack his hand away. 

“Můj Princi, můj Králi, I saw your father fall. He is gone,” Ondrej said, holding in his sobs. 

Andrej felt faint and the next thing he knew he was on his knees. 

“... to move,” the dark haired man Andrej didn’t know said. “They’ll be looking for him.”

Jan and Ondrej helped Andrej to his feet and Jan put a steadying arm around him while the dark haired man checked the corridor. 

“It’s clear,” he said. 

“There is a passage that leads outside of castle walls two floors up from here,” the Duke told the man. “There is a staircase at the end of the corridor.”

The man nodded, he led them from the room. A few steps down the corridor he turned to Andrej hissing. “Shhh, you’ve got to walk quieter.”

“I’m sorry, I was dressed for court not escaping a castle with stupid stone floors,” Andrej hissed back, gesturing at his heeled boots. 

The man looked them over quickly, and Andrej took a moment to assess him. 

He was tall, not as tall as Andrej of course, but taller than Drej and nearly as tall as Jan. He had several days worth of stubble and was dressed like one of the castle guards, but in black rather than the usual white and blue. 

“You’re right,” the man said. “Are your rooms nearby? Do you have more suitable attire?”

“They’re on this hall,” Jan confirmed. 

“Go, change quickly. Bring cloakes for traveling.”

Andrej adjusted his gait and gracefully, silently, danced to his room like only and Elf could. 

He focused his energy on finding suitable clothing, it was not yet winter but the nights were very chilly this close to the mountains. 

He didn’t bother to pack the rest of his belongings, there wasn’t anything of import, only clothing and a few books, they had only been planning to stay a few more days. 

Jan slipped into his room. 

“Are you ready?” He asked, his even tone belying the nerves Andrej could feel rolling off of him. 

“Yes,” Andrej said as he pulled his boots on. 

On the way to the door Andrej stopped. “Wait, my father’s ring.”

He hurried to the door that adjoined his room to the next room. Andrej’s eyes flitted around his father’s room, there were very few things since it was a short stay. Finally his eyes landed on a small, intricately hand carved box. He grabbed it and wrenched it open, nearly ripping the delicate top off. 

“It’s here,” he sighed to Jan, who had followed him into the room

“Good. Let’s go,” Jan said. He pointed Andrej to the door, holding both of their cloaks. 

Andrej slipped the box into his pocket before following Jan back into the corridor where Ondrej was already waiting with the two men. 

The dark haired man looked like he approved of their attire but he didn’t say anything, he turned and led them down the hallway. He and the Duke checked the stairwell and found no one. It wasn’t uncommon, this was a quiet, isolated area of the castle and the staff had separate stairs. 

Once they were two floors up Tyler showed them the passage that led out of the castle, it was hidden behind a tapestry. 

“How many people know about this?” The guard asked the Duke. 

The Duke shrugged. “I used to play here as a child and happened upon it. I’ve never shown it to anyone, but I’m sure others have found it like I did.”

“But the castle guards?”

“I’ve never seen any at either end,” Tyler said. 

The dark haired man handed Tyler a torch from the wall and sent him down the tunnel first, since he knew it, followed by the three elves, Jan and Drej keeping Andrej in the middle, and the dark haired man took the back. 

Andrej wanted to ask his name, who he was, but didn’t want to break the near silence they were walking in. 

They all heard a noise in the corridor they’d left behind. 

“The torch,” Jan whispered. 

The Duke set it down on the rough stone floor and stepped on it to extinguish the flame. 

They stood still, and silent, for what felt like an eternity listening to someone, or possibly two people, walking down the corridor and opening each door. 

They held their breath as the person passed the hidden entrance they were no more than twenty feet from. 

The searchers didn’t pause, they passed the tapestry and proceeded to the stairs. 

All five of them let out a collective breath, quietly, into the pitch blackness. 

“Now we can’t fucking see,” Andrej heard from behind him, presumably from the dark haired man, because it wasn’t Jan. 

Silently Ondrej and Jan each conjured small balls of light in their hands and sent them to float above the group. 

“Well how about that,” the man whispered. 

Andrej gathered he hadn’t been around many Elves in his life. 

Silently the group proceeded along the hallway that changed in size with what felt like every step. At times it was wide enough for three of them across and at times they had to turn sideways in a single file line to fit. 

It was a good thing the Duke was with them, if he weren’t they wouldn’t have been able to find the way forward several times. 

Eventually they found themselves in an area Andrej could tell was just underground. 

“There’s a well here,” the Duke whispered. “We should drink. It’s less than half a league to the end of the tunnel.”

They paused and drank their fill. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” Andrej asked. “If we’re caught at the end of the tunnel…”

Ondrej nodded. “Tyler and I were…”

“Tyler?” Andrej interrupted. 

“Tyler,” Ondrej said, pointing to the Duke. “The Duke of Coeur d'Alene. Tyler and I were walking down the corridor to the counsel room with Alex just behind us,” he gestured to the dark haired man, “and the doors were open. I could see your father standing there and King Bill walked up to him and ran him through.”

Andrej stood up straight. “So he could still be alive!”

“No,” Tyler said softly. 

Ondrej shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. Prince Pierre he…”

“He made sure your father was, gone,” Tyler finished for him. 

Andrej wanted to press but wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. 

Ondrej took a deep breath before continuing. “Alex pulled us out of there and we heard someone yelling ’You were supposed to wait for all of them to get here you idiots. Find the prince! Kill their guards!’ So we came to find you.”

“Do you know if anyone else made it?” Andrej asked, realizing their whole entourage was supposed to be in that room. There were less than ten of them total but the thought of them being gone was distressing. 

“I doubt it,” Alex said, speaking up for the first time. “The room was heavily guarded, the only reason we were able to escape was because the guards were watching what was happening inside the room instead of the corridor.”

“Who are you exactly?” Andrej asked, looming over Alex. “Because you’re dressed like a guard.”

Tyler wedged his way between the two taller men. “He’s my personal guard. I hired him from under the King. We can trust him.”

“I don’t even know if I can trust you,” Andrej said, looking down at Tyler. 

“Andrej,” Ondrej said. 

Andrej took a step back and looked over to Ondrej. 

“Trust me,” Ondrej said. “You can trust him.”

“Drej you’ve only known him a week,” Andrej countered. 

Ondrej held up his hand. “Andrej, můj Král, I am your Vévoda. Trust in me.”

Andrej nodded. He trusted Ondrej, and had without fault for nearly three hundred years, this was no time to question it. Especially while it felt like his heart had been ripped out and there was still a gaping wound in his chest. He needed Ondrej and Jan now, more than ever. 

Tyler wrapped an arm around Ondrej and the ball of light that had been hovering over his head flickered and disappeared, leaving them in half dark, the only light coming from the ball above Jan. 

Andrej stifled his laughter as Jan said, “Ew.”

“What?” asked Tyler as Ondrej scrambled to make another light ball. 

“Nothing,” Andrej told him. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Tyler tried to question Ondrej but he brushed him off as Andrej turned to Alex. 

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit on edge,” he said, extending his hand to Alex. “Thank you for saving Ondrej. He’s my Vévoda and I don’t know what I would do without him.”

Alex shook the proffered hand. “We should be going. The longer we wait down here the longer it gives someone to remember it exists.”

The group reformed their line and continued down the next leg of the corridor. It went by quickly and soon they were at a tall wooden door. 

“No one has noticed this thing?” Andrej asked Tyler, gesturing at the door. 

Tyler shook his head. “It looks like a wall panel. And I never could figure out how to open it from the outside. We’re going to come out in a storage room that isn’t used. The only other door in it leads to the outside of the castle wall. It’s about equidistant between the two guard towers on this side of the castle, opening right into the lower town.”

“We should be able to blend in easily,” Alex said, then glanced at the three Elvs. “Fairly easily.”

“That’s what hoods are for,” Jan said, flipping his hood up and plunging his face into deep shadow.

Andrej did the same, but his height would still cause him to be noticed. 

“I can work a little spell to try to go unnoticed,” Andrej said. “It won’t last for long. I don’t have any supplies.”

“It doesn’t need to, my stables are just down the block. If we can get you there and into my carriage I think we can get out of the city,” Tyler explained. “I have travel supplies there.”

“You were expecting this?” Andrej asked. 

Tyler shook his head. “No, I’ll explain everything once we’re secure.”

Jan went to the door and laid a hand and his forehead against it, letting his eyes fall closed. 

“What do you see?” Ondrej asked. 

“Not much, it’s dark and seems pretty empty. There’s no one in there,” Jan said. 

“He can see through doors?” Alex asked. 

“Essentially, yes,” Ondrej said. 

“I can sense spaces,” Jan said. “Sizes, shapes, people. It’s very hard to explain.”

Alex just stared at him. 

Andrej was once again struck with the thought that Alex hadn’t spent time with any Elves, which meant he certainly wasn’t from this kingdom. Not that Elves lived here en mass but it wasn’t unusual to see them daily, some even lived at Court. 

Jan and Tyler opened the rusted latch on the door enough for their party to fit through. 

Jan has been correct, the room was dark and mostly empty. After helping Tyler closed the door to the secret tunnel he went to the door that led to the street. 

“It’s harder to sense but there doesn’t seem to be too many people about,” Jan said. 

“I should go out first and assess the situation, I’m a guard so no one will even notice me coming from a storage room,” Alex said. 

“People have seen me with Ondrej enough that I doubt anyone will question the two of us going to my stable,” Tyler said. 

“Jan you should cast the same spell as Andrej, then it will seem like Tyler and I, and his guard are just visiting the stable, or like he’s taking me to his home in the country,” Ondrej added. 

Jan agreed and he and Andrej set to work casting their spells while Alex slipped out the door. 

“There’s no one about, come on,” Alex said, low.

Jan and Andrej finished their spells and followed Tyler and Ondrej out the door and into the street. 

Tyler was right, no one looked their way. They walked the several blocks to the stable and slipped in, completely unnoticed. 

Tyler gave instructions to the staff to ready his carriage and led the group into the makeshift office where he started pulling extra clothes from a small closet. 

He handed Jan a guard’s outfit that looked to be an exact copy of Alex’s. 

“You’re about the same size as Alex, with the traveling cloak you could be an outrider,” Tyler explained. 

Jan nodded and started changing his clothes. “I don’t know what to do with King Andrej,” Tyler admitted. “I imagine we’ll be stopped at the gate.”

“Are there guards above the gate? On the walls maybe?” Andrej asked, looking out the window at the carriage. 

“Not usually,” Tyler said, pulling more from the closet. “But I don’t know about now, they’re surely looking for you.”

Tyler started changing into traveling clothes as the others stood in silence. 

“I’m going to do some recon,” Alex said. “It’s only a few blocks to the gate I can see what’s going on, see if there’s anyone who can get us through the gate.”

Tyler agreed. “Be careful.”

“You should take Jan,” Andrej said. 

Alex started to argue but changed his mind. “Hoods up,” he said to Jan, pulling on his own cloak. 

Tyler called a stable hand in to load the things he’d pulled out of the closet and a few boxes that were around the office, after the boy had gone Tyler shut the door. 

He turned to Andrej. “I have a lot to explain and not much time so you’re getting the short version.”

“Ok,” Andrej agreed. 

“The mad King there,” Tyler started, pointing in the direction of the castle. “Has always been more than a little off but lately he’s literally lost his mind. There’s a little isolated kingdom in the middle of the mountains, on the way to the Kingdom Over the Mountains, and he killed the whole court, all of them. I’ve been planning an uprising, a coup, whatever you want to call it. I have allies throughout the court and the guards but most of the court is at their country homes at this time of year.”

“So you hadn’t gotten any intel on this?” Andrej asked. 

“ _ No _ ,” Tyler said, clearly frustrated. “But I’m pretty much the only one here right now.”

Alex and Jan returned. “I didn’t see anyone I know at the gate,” Alex said, lowering his hood. 

“And there are guards on the walls,” Jan added. 

“They’re searching everyone going in and out,” Alex said. 

“Fuck,” Tyler said. “We only have so long before they start searching all of my properties inside the city, I don’t know what to do.”

Andrej left the office to inspect the carriage, Tyler and Jan followed him. 

Squatting down to look under it Andrej showed Tyler what he was thinking. 

“I’ll hide here and cast my spell, as long as we get through the gates quickly we should be fine,” Andrej said. 

“How much time do we have for the spell to hold?”

“Four or five minutes at the most,” Andrej said. “I could make it longer if Jan and Ondrej could help me but I would need to cast it while we’re near the gate to make sure it lasts long enough.”

Tyler and Jan agreed the plan would be their best bet, especially with how short on time they were. 

They walked back in the office and Tyler made a choking sound, Jan was patting him on the back as Andrej entered. 

“Drej, why are you dressed like  _ that _ ?” Andrej asked, looking his lifelong friend up and down. 

He’d taken off his cloak and unbuttoned his shirt far enough that Andrej could see the shadow of his abdominal muscles. He’d also traded his cotton pants for the tightest pair of leather trousers Andrej had ever seen. They laced up the sides, showing skin from ankle to hip. 

“Alex thought it would be better if I looked a little more the part of someone running off to the country with a rich Duke,” Ondrej said. “And I think he’s right.”

Jan was still patting Tyler, who was nodding. “You look,” Tyler started. “Yes.”

Everyone laughed for a moment then sobered as they returned to the task at hand. 

Tyler left instructions with his staff to close his city home and return to his estate. 

Andrej climbed under the carriage, thankful for the ornate decoration that allowed him to hide and have something to rest on rather than holding himself up under the carriage until they were outside the city. 

It wasn’t a comfortable ride, Andrej was sure he would be bruised from bumping along the cobblestone road. 

After what seemed like an hour, but must have only been minutes, Jan made a couple predetermined stomps to signal to Andrej it was time for him to start working his spell. 

Andrej closed his eyes and mouthed his spell soundlessly, sending up a prayer to the Creator that Jan had his timing right. 

The carriage stopped and Andrej heard Alex speak. 

“It’s the Duke of Coeur d'Alene and his Mister,” Alex said, presumably to the guards at the gate. “The Duke is relocating to his estate for the season.”

“We need to search the carriage,” the guard said, coming up next to the carriage.

“The Duke asked not to be disturbed,” Alex said. “He’s in a bad temper, I wouldn’t disturb him if I were you.”

The guard's footsteps faltered before continuing around the carriage. 

“It looks like everything is in order,” the guard said before raising his voice. “Make way for the Duke of Coeur d'Alene!”

With that Alex flicked the reigns and continued out of the city gates. 

Andrej watched the road beneath them turn from cobblestones to hard packed dirt and could finally breathe easy, or he could if the horses weren’t kicking up so much dust. 

“Don’t worry King Andrej,” Alex called a few minutes later. “We’re nearing a bend that will put us out of view of the castle.”

Eventually Alex slowed to a halt. “Quickly, out the left side and into the carriage.”

Andrej followed his directions, he found the door already open and Tyler and Ondrej welcomed him inside. 

“Are you ok?” Ondrej asked once Andrej was settled. 

“A bit dirty but no worse for the wear,” Andrej said, knowing that wasn’t what Drej was asking. 

Tyler offered him some water which Andrej happily took it to rinse the dust from his mouth. 

“Where are we heading?” Andrej asked. 

“To one of my small estates, it came to me from my mother’s side and she wasn’t of this kingdom so I doubt anyone will look for us there, at least not immediately,” Tyler said. “It’s about halfway to The Forest so it seemed like as good as any place to go.”

That meant it would be about a week’s ride in a carriage. 

Andrej nodded. “Thank you,” Andrej said. “I haven’t had a chance to say it, but thank you. For saving Drej and for getting us out of the city. If there is ever anything you need we will repay you in any way you would like.”

“It’s what any decent person would do,” Tyler said, lacing his fingers through Ondrej’s on the seat. 

Andrej wanted to comment on it but stopped himself. He couldn’t bring himself to tease them. If they made each other happy Andrej wouldn’t say a word against their relationship. Even if it meant losing Drej, he would bless their relationship.

They traveled well into the night, stopping only for Jan to take over driving. Tyler went out on the driver’s seat to show him the way and Alex spread out across from Ondrej and Andrej, who were sleeping in short fits. 

It was nearly dawn when they finally stopped. Andrej expected to be at a town, an inn, when he came out of the carriage but he found himself facing a small manor house. 

Tyler was speaking rapidly to a guy with an accent, explaining the situation. 

The guy, Cedric, Duke of Gaspé, invited them in, he was a lot warmer than his eyebrows suggested he would be. 

Cedric had his housekeeper ready rooms for them so they could sleep for a few hours after eating. 

With a full belly Andrej laid down, alone for the first time since he’d learned of his father’s murder. 

Tears slid silently from his eyes, wetting the pillowcase. He couldn’t bring himself to put any more energy into grieving, he needed to sleep because when they left in the afternoon they would be leaving on horseback. 

Andrej was surprised that he’d actually slept when Jan woke him with a touch to the shoulder hours later, the sun had already turned. 

“Come, there is food before we leave.”

The others were already settled around Cedric’s large dining room table, Andrej was very impressed with the spread the cook had been able to put together for so many unexpected guests. There was more food here than they would ever be able to eat. 

“The staff will pack the leftovers, they should be good for a couple days,” Cedric said, as though he could read Andrej’s mind. 

Andrej was sitting next to Alex and he couldn’t help but be impressed with his table manners, he’d eaten among human guards before and they were always rather rough around the edges. They typically weren’t aware of what different course silverware were for but Alex moved through the lunch courses without faltering. 

“Cedric told me some troubling news,” Tyler said to get everyone’s attention. “Some of the King’s guard came by looking for me. My carriage is well hidden and they didn’t ask to search the property, but they are looking. Presumably they’ll move on towards my estate but we’ll be heading a different direction.”

Andrej nodded, he had expected a pursuit but Cedric said the guards had been in wagons and they would be on horseback, if it came to it they could easily outrun the wagons or take to the fields or forests. 

Within the hour Cedric had them on horseback, he put Jan on a skittish colt that had instantly been taken with Jan, and Jan with the horse. 

The horse stood still as Jan whispered to him and the stable hand started to put a saddle on him. 

“Oh, no thank you, he doesn’t like it,” Jan told him, stopping the hand from throwing the leather saddle over the horse. 

“But,” the hand started, Cedric stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s ok, I’m sure he knows what he is asking,” Cedric said. 

Andrej held back his laughter, Jan was so full of shit, he just liked to ride bareback. 

They set out over Cedric’s fields, parallel to the road, but behind a line of trees that separated the road and the fields. 

“You know the way without taking the roads?” Jan asked Tyler. 

“Mostly,” Tyler said. “As long as we don’t get too far from the roads, we will be fine.”

Andrej was a little concerned but he really didn’t have any other choice but to trust the Duke. 

Andrej found himself riding next to Alex. “Where are you from?” Andrej asked Alex. 

Alex looked surprised by the question, Andrej saw his face darken. “I’m from Toronto.”

“Oh,” Andrej said, surprised that Alex blatantly lied to him. “You were born there?”

“Yes.”

Andrej didn’t even need his extra senses to know that Alex was full of it but he decided not to press, Cedric didn’t have any weapons to spare so Alex was the only one who was armed, he didn’t want to sew any discourse in the group. 

They rode for three days, staying in small inns in the smallest villages they came across before they heard someone in the small dining room area say they’d seen several palace guards, and how strange it was, they’d never seen palace guards unless a member of the Royal family was traveling through the village. 

The Elves made it a habit to keep their hoods up, hiding their identity from everyone. These weren’t areas where their people traveled often so they didn’t want the locals mentioning to any guards that passed through that three Elves had been seen traveling with men. They often ate in smaller groups so as not to call attention to themselves. 

The group ate quickly and returned to their rooms, typically they had gotten three rooms when they stopped, but this inn was busier and they only had two available rooms. 

Logically they should have split up as the Elves and the Men, but Ondrej and Tyler didn’t want to be separated so Alex, who usually roomed alone, was sharing with Andrej and Jan. 

After Andrej and Jan settled into their room Alex announced he was going to the small pub next door to see if anyone else was talking about the guards, and see if they had been asking questions. 

Once he left Jan asked, “What do you think he’s really doing?”

Andrej shrugged. “That was a partial truth at least. He’s probably just going to wench or something.”

“He lives in half truths and lies,” Jan said. 

Andrej agreed. “I don’t trust him but I also don’t sense anything evil in him.”

“He’s just, odd,” Jan said. “I’m still not sure if I trust him.”

“Me either, but I do trust Ondrej and Tyler.”

They passed the evening playing with a deck of cards they found on the table and went to sleep early, knowing they were leaving at first light. 

Andrej woke in the night to someone shaking him. “Wake, dress, we need to leave immediately!”

“What’s going on?” Andrej asked Alex. 

“I’ll explain later. I need to wake the Duke and Ondrej,” Alex said before leaving the room. 

Andrej woke Jan, who sleeps like the dead, and the two of them dressed and readied their belongings while waiting for Alex to return. 

Alex came back and while he was picking up his belongings he said, “There are guards staying here in the inn. A lot of them.”

Andrej and Jan followed Alex to the hallway where they met Ondrej and a sleepy looking Tyler carrying their bags. 

“Let me go first and make sure none of them came back downstairs,” Alex said in a hushed voice. 

He walked down the stairs, and looked around before motioning them down. 

Their horses were waiting for them with two young grooms who looked asleep on their feet. 

Tyler tossed the boys an extra coin each and sent them back to bed as they mounted their horses.

“Not a word to anyone about what time we left,” Tyler said. “Let them think we left just before dawn as planned.”

The boys nodded eagerly and he tossed them each a second coin. 

They left the town quickly but quietly, stealing away into the darkness, listening carefully for hoof beats behind them. 

Fortunately they didn’t hear any. 

“What happened?” Tyler asked once they were miles from the village. 

“I went to the pub to hear the town gossip, see what was being said about the guards and I stepped out of the taproom to uh, see a man about a dog,” Alex said. 

“Lie,” Andrej thought. 

“And when I returned there were two tables full of guards. I recognized some of them so I knew if they saw me they would recognize me. I couldn’t leave without passing them so I hid in the back room until they left a couple hours later, then I snuck out behind them and followed them to the inn. They stayed in the dining room for another couple hours. I waited a little while and then came and woke you all up.”

“That was mostly the truth,” Andrej thought. “Except for the part where he said he said he stepped out to go to the bathroom.”

“Why are they this far out?” Jan asked. “They must know about Tyler’s property and that we could be heading for it.”

Tyler made a distressed sound before Alex spoke again. 

“I don’t think so, I heard them talking while I was hiding and several of them were complaining that coming this far out was a waste of time.”

“We’re only three days out from my estate,” Tyler said. “I think we should stop staying in towns, sleep rough for a few nights. If we press hard we can probably even make it in two days.”

The others agreed and they made plans to take turns going into town to fetch food, or anything else they need. 

They stopped and set up a small camp in the early afternoon, because Alex hadn’t slept at all the night before. 

Ondrej and Tyler went into the town they‘d stopped outside to stock up on food while the others stayed behind. 

“I’m going to commune with the river,” Jan said before walking away from the campsite. 

“Is he serious?” Alex asked Andrej. 

Andrej looked after Jan. “Yeah, sort of,” he shrugged. 

They worked in silence until they were nearly done. Andrej sat down next to where Alex was trying to light a small campfire. 

“Would you like help?” Andrej asked softly. 

Alex startled, it seemed he hadn’t realized how close Andrej was. He stared at Andrej for a long moment before nodding. 

Andrej cupped his hands around Alex’s and murmured a simple spell, immediately the kindling sparked and caught fire. 

“Wow,” Alex said, taking a seat very close to Andrej. “That must be a huge help. Is there anything you can’t do?”

Andrej laughed. “There is plenty I can’t do. But there’s a lot I can.”

They sat in silence, Andrej enjoyed the press of Alex’s shoulder against his. 

Andrej broke the silence and asked, “You haven’t been around a lot of elves in your life, have you?”

Alex shook his head no. 

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I felt like you should know we can tell when you’re lying,” Andrej continued. 

Alex made a distressed noise. 

Andrej patted his thigh. “It’s ok, your life is your own, there is no need to divulge anything to me.”

Alex looked torn, and like he was about to say something but Andrej could hear Tyler and Ondrej returning and told him. 

Ondrej stepped into the clearing first and arched an eyebrow at Andrej, eyes quickly flicking to his hand still on Alex’s thigh. 

Andrej rolled his eyes and moved his hand back to his own lap. 

Just then Jan came back, naked, and hung his damp clothes over a few low tree limbs. 

“How was it?” Ondrej asked. 

“Fine, they don’t know yet,” Jan said quietly. 

“What? What does that mean?” Tyler asked. 

“That river originates from a spring in the Forest. We can essentially pick up stray emotions that come from the Forest. Jan is the most sensitive to them,” Andrej explained. 

“Oh,” Tyler said.

“Should we be traveling along the river?” Alex asked. “Would that be the best way back?”

“No, it winds and doubles back many times,” Andrej said, patting his thigh again. 

This time Jan arched his eyebrow at Andrej, and Andrej ignored him. 

“I think I’m going to go down to the river to clean up,” Andrej announced, pushing himself up from the ground. 

“I’ll join you,” Alex said. 

Andrej was a little surprised, Alex hadn’t yet on this trip willingly spent time with any of them. 

Jan wiggled his eyebrows at Andrej, who shoved him as he walked by. 

Alex followed Andrej through the woods to the river, shedding their clothes on the bank before walking into the cool, clear running water.

The river was running swiftly enough that they could easily be carried downriver if they didn’t keep their footing. 

“Since I can’t lie to you, I guess you can tell how I feel,” Alex said, allowing the current to float him closer to Andrej. 

Andrej wasn’t the best at picking up stray emotions but the lust was coming off of Alex in waves. He’d felt it before as they were traveling but assumed it was Ondrej and Tyler.

“I can,” Andrej said, reaching out under the water and wrapping his hand around Alex’s naked hip, pulling him nearer. 

“I wish I could tell how you feel,” Alex said, the closer he pressed the more Andrej could feel genuine affection under the lust. 

“The same,” Andrej said. “I feel the same things you do.”

Bobbing in the water they were the same height, Alex reeled Andrej in for a kiss, scorching compared to the cool water flowing around them. 

Andrej drew Alex’s legs around him, Alex’s cock was already rock hard where he pressed against Andrej’s stomach. 

“Wow,” Andrej breathed. He reached between them to wrap his hand around Alex’s cock, making him whimper and bury his face in the crook of Andrej’s neck. 

Andrej held Alex’s cock against the flat plane of his stomach. 

“Move your hips, come on,” Andrej said, grabbing Alex’s ass with his other hand to help steady them in the moving water. “That’s it.”

Alex tightened his legs around Andrej and started working his hips, his movements bringing Andrej to full hardness, sliding between Alex’s cheeks. 

“Come on baby,” Andrej said, drifting kisses down Alex’s neck to his shoulder. “You can do it, come for me, come on me.”

Alex made a strangled whimper and released himself into the water. It was like Alex lost control of all of his muscles, it was suddenly like Andrej was trying to hold jelly in his hand he went so limp. Andrej caught him and held him close, never stopping the working of his own hips, grinding up against Alex. 

“Feels good,” Alex muttered when Andrej’s cock caught on his rim for a moment. “You can go inside.”

“Next time, we don’t have any oil,” Andrej panted. 

Alex whined, still grinding his spent cock against Andrej’s stomach, his teeth worrying at Andrej’s collarbone. 

Andrej could feel his release coming, he worked his cock faster against Alex, the water sloshing around them, before Alex bit down on his collarbone. Andrej dug his fingers into Alex’s ass, groaning with his release. 

They held each other and floated for a few moments before Alex looked around. “Where are we?”

Andrej looked around and didn’t see their clothes.

“I think we floated down the River,” Andrej said with a laugh, kissing Alex. 

“I wonder how far,” Alex said, craning his neck to try to look back upriver. “The others might worry.”

Andrej snorted. “I doubt the others will look for us any time soon.”

“They know what we’re doing?” Alex asked. 

“Definitely,” Andrej confirmed. 

“Did we just desecrate your people’s like sacred river?” Alex asked with a grimace. 

“Uh, no,” Andrej said, trying to mull over how to explain his people’s relationship with the River. “It’s actually kind of encouraged.”

“Oh,” Alex said, clearly confused but unwilling to press further. “So how do we get back? The current is kind of strong.”

“There was a path heading this way where we got in, it should be on the other side of the scrub.”

Two days later they arrived at Tyler's smaller country property in the predawn hours having ridden straight through the night. 

The cook and scullery maid were the only ones awake inside the house, and they were genuinely happy to see Tyler and that told Andrej everything he needed to know about the Duke. 

Andrej would give his blessing for Ondrej to marry Tyler, not that either of them had asked, but as the King he had to give permission for anyone to marry outside of the Forest. 

Andrej knew it would be hard to lose his constant companion so soon after his father, who’s death he hadn’t even processed, but Andrej couldn’t stand being the one to take away the happiness he saw on Ondrej’s face as he watched Tyler charm his cook. 

The cook sent the scullery maid to wake the housekeeper so she could ready rooms for them to stay in.

Breakfast was rather decadent. Once the cook met the three Elves she put her all into cooking for them, it turned out her mother had once been the cook for one of Andrej’s cousins so she knew many Elvish delicacies and was able to whip up several on short notice. 

When breakfast was over Tyler sent one of the stable boys to close the front gate and sit in the guard house. It wasn’t something they usually did but Tyler didn’t want to be surprised by palace guards riding straight up to the house. They’d crossed over into the kingdom of Tampa and typically guards wouldn’t dare step foot over the borders without express leave but, their King was a murderous maniac and Tyler didn’t trust the guards to follow that code. 

Tyler’s estate sat in the middle of a small finger of land that jutted out between King Bill’s kingdom of Onterio and the Forest that Tyler was in charge of as the Landgraf, it was his duty to protect this area. 

Tampa is a vast, incredibly wealthy country that is at peace, there is a local guard that Tyler oversees, they are well trained and well equipped, Tyler explained. He sent word to them of the possibility of guards from Onterio crossing over the border

Andrej was exhausted from traveling for over 24 hours straight and after eating he was glad the maids were waiting to show them to their rooms. He found it odd that Tyler had given Alex a room on the same hallway as he and Jan, he’d expected Tyler to give him a room in the servant’s quarters, even with all they’d been through Alex was still in Tyler’s employ, but Tyler didn’t treat him that way. 

The maid showing Andrej to his room told him there was a bath already drawn and she would take his clothes to have them cleaned and pressed. 

Andrej thanked her and disrobed quickly, handing the clothes he’d been wearing, and the extras from his pack around the door to her, where she’d waited in the hallway. 

The bath was in the adjoining room and steam was still rising from its surface. 

Andrej had never been so happy to see a bath with an array of soaps laid out next to it. 

He smelled each one then selected one that smelt of sage before climbing in. 

Andrej washed up then reclined, resting his head on the edge of the tub and closing his eyes. 

“Andrej?”

Andrej jerked awake, he wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep but the water he was sitting in was cold. 

“Yeah?” Andrej called back. He wasn’t sure who called out for him until Alex appeared in the doorway. 

“Hey,” Alex said. “Have you been in the bath this whole time?”

Andrej looked around, disoriented. “Yeah, I fell asleep.”

Alex laughed and picked up the towel Andrej had left next to the tub. 

Andrej took the towel and climbed out of the tub. “What time is it?”

“It’s only been about an hour since we went to our rooms,” Alex told him. “I haven’t been to sleep yet. I couldn’t sleep, there’s something bothering me.”

“What’s that?” Andrej asked, drying himself. 

“When we were in the castle in Toronto when the King and the Prince, when they killed your father, I heard someone else talking, like they were pulling the strings. He had a strange accent, nothing I’ve ever heard before.”

“So you think King Bill didn’t do this?”

“No he did it, I saw it with my own eyes, but I think someone else is making him do it, it using him to further their own agenda or something,” Alex said. “I’m sorry, you’re grieving. I probably shouldn’t have brought this to you.”

“No, no it’s ok. I need to know if I’ve got more than one enemy out there,” Andrej said. “We should talk to Ondrej and Tyler, see what they remember.”

“I just walked by their room, I don’t think you want to bother them just now,” Alex said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Andrej sighed. “Of course.”

“We need to sleep anyway. We’re safe here, the Duke says no one knows about this property, not even his partners in the rebellion, plus he has his own private army now that we’ve crossed over the border,” Alex said, pausing to take a deep breath. “This is probably the first time we’ve been truly safe since any of us entered Toronto.”

Andrej ran a hand down Alex’s arm. “We are safe.”

Alex stepped up to Andrej and threw his arms around his neck. 

“You’re going to get wet,” Andrej said, hugging Alex. 

“‘S ok,” Alex said. 

Andrej could feel Alex shaking. It felt like they were on the verge of something but Andrej didn’t know how to proceed. He laid his cheek on the top of Alex’s head and swayed them back and forth gently. 

“Sorry,” Alex mumbled into Andrej’s shoulder. 

“It’s ok,” Andrej told him. “Let’s get some sleep, we’ll both feel better.”

Andrej walked Alex to his bed and tucked him in before going back to the bathroom to finish drying off and to pull on clean under things. 

When Andrej returned to his room Alex was already asleep. 

Andrej climbed into the four poster bed next to Alex and curled up under the thick blankets and fell asleep. 

Andrej woke up when he felt the bed moving, he opened his eyes to see Alex sliding out of the bed, sometime while he was sleeping Alex had shed most of his clothes, he was naked from the waist up. 

Alex looked back and saw Andrej was awake. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you, I just need to visit the rest room.”

Andrej waved him on and stretched out across the bed, looking towards the window. 

The sun had already turned and was making its way towards the horizon. 

Alex came back and tumbled into the bed, sliding close to Andrej. 

“I wonder when dinner is,” Alex said. 

“Probably not for a while yet,” Andrej said, pulling Alex closer. 

“Do you actually know or are you trying to make it seem like we have more time than we really do?” Alex asked, propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at Andrej. 

“I have no idea, but aristocracy tends to eat late, so it’s an educated guess,” Andrej answered. “And what do we need time for?”

Alex rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss Andrej before pulling back. “For that,” Alex said with a small smile.

There was a sharp knock on the door, making them both groan. 

Andrej drug himself from the bed and opened the door to find Jan. 

“Do you know where Alex is?” Jan asked. “He’s not in his room.”

Andrej opened the door further to show Alex waving from the bed. 

“Oh. Well Tyler wants to talk to him, if you guys are done,” Jan said. 

“We’ll get dressed and come down,” Andrej told him. Jan nodded and headed back towards the stairs. 

Alex sighed dramatically before hefting himself from the bed and grabbed his clothes from the floor. 

Andrej dressed as well and they met at the door where Andrej pulled Alex in. 

“We’re going to be here for days, we have plenty of time ok?” Andrej reassured him, pressing a kiss to his lips. 

They made their way downstairs where the housekeeper showed them into the drawing room where Tyler, Ondrej, and Jan were waiting. 

“Tea?” Tyler offered. 

Andrej and Alex each helped themselves to a cup of tea and settled into the couch next to Jan and across from Tyler and Ondrej. Alex leaned into Andrej. Ondrej raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Guards from Onterio tried crossing the border in two different places today,” Tyler said. “My guards stopped them but I don’t know if they’re going to try again. They said they were looking for an escaped fugitive who had killed the visiting King from the Forest, they said it was you, Alex,” Tyler continued. 

Alex huffed a laugh. “It’s fine I don’t have any family for them to go after, and you guys know I didn’t do it,” Alex said with a shrug. 

Andrej nodded and patted Alex’s leg. 

Tyler nodded. “No family? That’s what I was worried about.”

Alex shook his head. “Not that they could find. Not in Ontario.”

“There was something else Alex thought of that I wanted to ask you two about,” Andrej said before explaining about the voice Alex had heard. 

“I remember hearing someone say that,” Tyler said. “But I don’t remember anything specific. I didn’t see who said it.”

By Ondrej’s face Andrej could tell they’d jogged his memory. 

“Drej?” Andrej asked. 

“I remember getting cold and then hot all over,” Ondrej said. “The voice felt like it pierced right through me. I didn’t really register what made me feel it until now, I thought it was just seeing what I saw.”

“That sounds like…” Jan started then trailed off. 

“No, there’s no way,” Andrej said. “My grandfather killed them hundreds of years ago.”

“You have to admit, it sounds like them,” Ondrej said. 

“Can someone please fill in the two of us?” Tyler asked, gesturing between himself and Alex. 

“Sorry,” Ondrej said, taking Tyler’s hand. “Before the three of us were born…”

Alex cut him off, “Hundreds of years ago?”

Andrej laughed and patted Alex’s leg. “Yes, hundreds, with an s.”

“How old are you?” Alex asked, eyes wide. 

“Two hundred and eighty three,” Andrej said. 

Alex made a choked sound. 

“Get a grip,” Tyler said. “Please continue, darling.”

Ondrej swallowed his laughter as Andrej continued to comfort Alex. 

“Just before we were born, Andrej’s grandfather had fought the Seven Weeks War against a sect of wizards that all had this weird voice power when they were casting spells and controlling people. The wizards’ army fought to the death his grandfather, and mine and Jan’s, they killed them all.”

“Or thought they did,” Jan said. 

“They wrote it all down,” Andrej said. “Documented all of them.”

“Maybe they exaggerated,” Tyler suggested. 

Andrej shook his head. “Elves don’t do that. We document facts to pass down through history. Elves accounts are the only truly accurate history this world knows.”

Jan and Ondrej agreed. 

“Maybe there were others they didn’t know about, or maybe their children or grandchildren,” Alex said. 

“It’s possible. We need to consult the Records in the Forest,” Jan said. 

Andrej agreed. “We need to get there first.”

“We have a few days travel, even changing horses regularly. Give me tomorrow to prepare supplies and we can leave the day after,” Tyler said. 

Andrej wanted to leave right that moment, delaying over a day meant it would be longer until he could start getting to the bottom of who had killed his father, and grieve with his people, his father wasn’t the only one who had been killed. But he knew they needed to take the day and get supplies together, they had been woefully unprepared for the first leg of their journey, especially once they started sleeping rough. If they’re properly prepared they’ll be able to move faster, logically he knew that but it didn’t stop him from feeling the pull to get to his people. 

He nodded. “We won’t be safe, not from them, until we get to the Forest and our magic protects us.”

“We should do some protection spells here,” Ondrej said. 

Jan agreed. “This land is so full of magic the wizards wouldn’t be able to tell it was Elven magic even if they stood on the front stairs.”

“You’re right. It’s this whole land hums,” Andrej said. 

“Really?” Tyler asked. 

“I can feel, something. I don’t really understand it,” Alex said. 

“Some humans are sensitive to magic,” Andrej said. “You are fully human right?”

Alex hesitated. “I’ve never been told any different.”

It wasn’t a lie, exactly. But it wasn’t completely the truth so Alex probably thought he’d gotten away with it. 

“Let’s get the spells going before dinner,” Ondrej said, changing the subject quickly 

“Can I watch?” Alex asked, oblivious to the fact that he had made things incredibly awkward. 

“Sure, come with me,” Andrej said, standing and extending his hand. “I’ll start the north side and wrap around to the east, Drej you start on the south, and Jan you start on the west and head south.”

Tyler showed them outside then returned to his study to catch up on work for the estate. 

The three Elves cast their protection spells, crisscrossing and weaving them together, protecting the manor and all of the outbuildings. 

Alex trailed behind Andrej, where Andrej had shown him he could walk and not get wrapped up in the spells he was casting. 

When Andrej was done he turned to Alex, finding him looking dazed, almost drunk. 

“Are you ok?” Andrej asked. 

“I feel tingly all over,” Alex said before covering his mouth when a small giggle escaped. 

Andrej laughed. “You’re sensitive to magic alright. Come on, let’s get you inside,” Andrej said, wrapping an arm around Alex to help him into the house. 

Andrej dropped Alex onto a chaise in Tyler’s office. 

“You’re really strong,” Alex said, blinking wide eyed up at Andrej. 

“Thank you,” Andrej said, trying to hold in his laughter. 

“Is he ok?” Tyler asked, his concern evident in his voice. 

“He’s fine, just high.”

Ondrej and Jan came into the office, both laughing quietly as they heard Andrej. 

“He’s definitely magic sensitive,” Jan snickered as Alex’s head lolled back. 

“You guys have done magic near him before,” Tyler said. 

“Yeah, but we just did a lot of magic, and more complex,” Ondrej explained. 

“Could that happen to me?” Tyler asked with a small laugh. “Honestly he looks like he’s having a good time.”

Alex seemed to be bobbing his head to music only he could hear while ignoring everyone talking about him. 

“Maybe, but I’m too tired to try,” Ondrej teased. 

There was a knock on the open door. “My Lord,” the housekeeper said. “Dinner is served.”

“Thank you,” Tyler answered before she left. 

“I hoped we weren’t supposed to dress for dinner,” Alex said, smoothing a hand down his plain tunic. 

Andrej hadn’t seen him wear anything that wasn’t very plain or a guard’s uniform, so it made him wonder what Alex was talking about. 

“No,” Tyler said, struggling to hold in his laughter. “You’ll do just fine.” 

Andrej helped Alex from the couch, when he stood up he stretched like a cat as everyone else left the room. 

“How are you feeling?” Andrej asked. 

“Still tingly,” Alex said. “I want to roll around naked on silk.”

Andrej snorted, he’d like that too. “Maybe after dinner.”

“Perfect,” Alex said, attempting to wink but it was more like a slow blink. 

Dinner was a quiet affair where the group discussed what they needed to do to prepare for the next leg of their journey, Alex was feeling more like himself when it was over. 

Walking up the stairs Andrej asked him if he still wanted to roll around naked on silk sheets. 

“Only if you join me,” Alex said. 

“I was hoping you would say that,” Andrej said. 

Alex hauled Andrej into his room by his hand, locking the door behind them. 

He bracketed Andrej against the door, leaning up to press their lips together, Andrej was surprised, but pulled Alex harder against him. 

Alex growled. “You’re so damn tall.”

“Well you wanted to roll around anyway,” Andrej smirked down at him. 

Alex backed up and started pulling his clothes off. “Just shut up and get naked,” Alex told him. 

Andrej did as he was told and shed his clothing, following Alex to the bed. 

“Holy shit you look good,” Alex said, sitting on the edge of the bed and running his hands up Andrej’s sides. 

“So do you,” Andrej said, cupping Alex’s face. 

Alex leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Andrej’s stomach, making his half hard cock jump. 

Alex let out a little moan before pressing more kisses from hip bone to hip bone, brushing across Andrej’s cock, making him hiss. 

Alex looked up at Andrej who ran his thumb across Alex’s bottom lip. 

“There uh, there isn’t anything different about the way you uh, do this right?” Alex asked. Andrej could feel the nerves rolling off of him. 

Andrej smiled and leaned down to kiss Alex. “No kotě, it’s all the same.”

Alex nodded and when Andrej stood back up he leaned forward and took his cock in his mouth. 

He caught Andrej by surprise and he had to steady himself, grabbing onto Alex’s shoulders so his knees wouldn’t give out. 

Alex moaned around him and Andrej moved one hand to his hair and the other to cup his cheek. 

“Don’t tease me, suck,” Andrej said, scratching his blunt nails across Alex’s scalp. 

Alex smiled up at him, as best he could, and brought his hand up to hold the base of Andrej’s cock so he could take more into his mouth. 

“Shit,” Andrej breathed. 

Alex chuckled and Andrej had to grab his shoulders. 

“I don’t think I can do this standing up,” Andrej told him. 

Alex released his cock, Andrej ran his hand down his face, scratching at his jaw through his beard. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Andrej said. 

Alex nearly snorted. “Have you looked in the mirror? Come on. Get over here.”

Andrej climbed onto the bed and Alex followed him to the top, straddling his waist and kissing him. 

Andrej ran his hands over every inch of Alex he could reach, finally settling on Alex’s ass. 

Alex pulled away. “There’s oil in the bedside stand. I checked earlier.”

He crawled across the bed and came back with a small vial of oil. 

“I assume you know how to do this,” Alex said, pulling the small cork out of the vial with his teeth. 

“Yeah, I think I can handle it,” Andrej said, holding up his hand so Alex could drip some oil onto his fingers. 

Alex re-corked the vial and slid it under the pillow Andrej was laying on. 

“For later,” Alex said, winking before kissing Andrej again. 

Andrej’s slick fingers found their way to Alex’s hole, making him shudder. 

Within minutes Alex was a shuddering, whining mess, moaning into Andrej’s neck. 

“It’s ok baby, I’ve got you,” Andrej murmured, stilling his fingers. “Are you ready?”

Alex took a couple deep breaths and sat up after Andrej slid his fingers free. 

Alex retrieved the vial and coated Andrej's hand again, reaching around Alex he coated his own cock and held it steady so Alex could work himself down onto it. 

“Shit,” Andrej said, grabbing Alex’s hips as soon as he was fully seated. 

Andrej lost himself in watching Alex’s abs flex as he rode him, he had no idea how long he’d been staring when Alex’s hand tightened in his hair, pulling his head back so Alex could kiss him. 

It was messy, neither of them had any finesse but Andrej couldn’t find it in himself to care about anything but Alex around and on top of him. 

Alex had changed the angle when he leaned forward so Andrej wasn’t getting as deep, but now his cock was grinding against Andrej’s stomach

“O-oh,” Alex said, picking up his pace. “Fuck that’s good.”

“Come on baby, I’m close, come on,” Andrej said. 

Andrej felt Alex tighten around him, seconds before he felt Andrej come between them. 

Andrej tightened his fingers on Alex’s hips and thrust up once more before releasing himself inside him. 

Alex all but collapsed on top of Andrej, panting into his neck again. 

“We need to do that about twenty more times before we leave,” Alex said. 

Andrej laughed and kissed Alex a couple times, big smacks on his forehead and cheek. 

“Agreed,” Andrej said. “I can’t wait.”

Andrej eased himself out of Alex and helped him roll to the side. “I’ll get you a rag in just a moment, darling.”

“Oh, ‘s ok,” Alex murmured, already half asleep. 

Andrej rolled over a look at him, Alex started snoring. 

The next day Tyler sent his servants into town to gather their supplies while he and Ondrej poured over maps to plot their route to the Forest. 

The group had an early dinner, turning in as the sun went down. 

“We’ve been so focused on getting you to the Forest, what are you going to do when you get there?” Alex asked as he and Andrej climbed into bed. 

Andrej sighed. “Break the news about my father. Speak with the elders about the war and pour over the Records. My grandfather kept journals his entire life that have never been added to the official records, they were in my family's private library. We’ll need to go through them as well, in case he did hold anything back. Or perhaps there was something he had a feeling about, not something he would put in official records. After that, I don’t know. Raise an army, march on King Bill in Toronto and avenge my Father’s and my people’s deaths.”

“I’ll be with you, if you want me,” Alex said. 

“Are you trained to fight?” Andrej asked. 

Alex snorted. “Like you’ve never seen.”

Andrej pressed a kiss to Alex’s forehead. He had no idea how to interpret the feelings rolling off Alex. “Then I wouldn’t have you anywhere else.”

The next morning they were awoken before dawn and brought breakfast by a sleepy looking maid. 

Andrej ate his fruit off of the planes of Alex’s stomach, rather than the plate it had come on, taking his time because he didn't know when they would be able to take this kind of time together, knowing they were safe. They exchanged blowjobs before going downstairs to meet the rest of their group. 

As soon as they left Tyler’s property, out a back gate through a forest path, Andrej had a strange feeling. 

It only took exchanging a glance with Jan and Ondrej to know they felt it as well. 

As soon as they got to a well tended road they gave the horses their heads and ran, galloped when they could. 

They changed horses three times when they came to towns, running in stops and starts between the towns. 

They rode on longer into the night than originally planned because the moon was full, giving them the light they needed to travel by. 

Andrej estimated it was probably after ten when they finally stopped for the night. He and Alex started setting up their sleeping pallets while Jan collected fire wood and Ondrej and Tyler started preparing to cook their dinner. 

Andrej hadn’t been able to shake the strange feeling he’d had all day, it was like someone was watching them, but more sinister, more heavy. 

It didn’t feel like spell work, at least not any spell work Andrej had felt before. 

The Elves hadn’t discussed it, not with anything more than a look when the feeling got especially oppressive. If someone was watching somehow they didn’t want them to know they were on them. 

Once the camp was set up Alex set a few physical traps that would make noise if someone came near their camp. 

“We could have just put up wards,” Jan muttered. 

“Shh,” Andrej shushed him. “He’s proud of himself.”

Andrej silently added a few spells, including one that silenced them to anyone outside of the camp. 

Immediately Andrej stopped feeling like they were being watched. Ondrej and Jan’s heads snapped to look at him. 

Quickly he filled Alex and Tyler in on the fact that someone is somehow eavesdropping on their journey. 

“I thought I was being paranoid,” Alex said. Tyler agreed. 

“I don’t know how they’re doing it or if they’ll be able to get through this spell remotely. We will need to be careful what we discuss when we aren’t warded. And we can’t be warded while on the move the spell doesn’t move with us,” Andrej explained. 

After eating they settled in for the night, trusting the wards, and Alex’s traps, to do their jobs. 

The next day passed uneventfully, they changed horses several times, never shaking the feeling of someone watching them. 

The third day of their journey was rainy when they awoke, by the time the camp was packed it was pouring. 

Progress throughout the day was very slow, it seemed like the faster they went the harder it rained. The horses were miserable and wouldn’t go any faster than a canter in the odd moments when the rain lifted a little. 

By early afternoon they were all cold and miserable and decided to stop early. 

The rain let up a little as they found a decent spot with plenty of tree coverage to camp. 

As they unloaded the horses the rain stopped completely. The group exchanged looks, perhaps they should go on. 

The sun came out when Alex opened their food bag and started rummaging through it. 

“Maybe we should keep going,” Tyler said. 

Thunder rumbled overhead and the sky darkened again. 

Alex sighed. “Let’s eat, then decide.”

Ondrej built a fire and they began cooking. They hadn’t stopped for lunch, knowing eating in the deluge would be miserable at the least, impossible at the worst. 

They ate a hot meal and packed up again, when they started loading the horses the rain started again. 

“This is magic,” Andrej said. 

Ondrej and Jan agreed. “It won’t stop unless we do,” Jan added. “It’s going to slow us down but we have to keep pressing forward.”

Thunder cracked and lightning struck a tree nearby. 

“Let’s get going,” Alex yelled over the now pounding rain. “No use delaying.”

They rode on well into the night, trying to make up for the time they’d lost during the day. Sometimes the rain was coming down so hard Andrej rode with his eyes closed, trusting the horse not to run them into something. 

The rain let up a little when they stopped to set up camp. 

Tonight they set up the tents they hadn’t bothered with the nights before, anxious to get out of the rain and dry off. 

The wind started to pick up as they pitched the tents, Andrej and Jan cast spells to charm the stakes into holding firmly into the ground. 

Inside they were able to change into dry clothes while the walls of the tent whipped in and out from the gusts of wind. 

“I’m never going to be able to sleep,” Alex yelled, looking forlorn. 

“I could take away your hearing,” Jan yelled back. 

“Wait, really?” Alex asked. Jan and Andrej nodded. “But I can get it back right?”

“Of course,” Jan scoffed and held out his hand. 

Alex placed his hand into Jan’s as Jan muttered a spell into his palm. 

Alex’s eyes went wide. 

“Holy shit, that’s weird!” Alex yelled. 

The two elves laughed at him but Alex didn’t notice, he just curled up on his bedroll. 

“Here, I’ll do you, one of us should probably keep our hearing, just in case,” Andrej said referring to the usual wards they’d set up. 

They argued for a few minutes about the fact that Andrej probably wouldn’t be able to hear anything over the howling wind and the flapping tent anyway. 

“Fine. Wake me up in a few hours and we’ll switch,” Jan finally relented, holding out his hand. 

Andrej spoke the spell into it, temporarily blocking Jan’s hearing. 

They settled down to sleep, or to try in Andrej’s case. He knew resting his body and eyes would help, even if he weren’t actually sleeping. 

Somehow Andrej managed to doze off, but he wasn’t sure for how long before he was startled awake. 

He lay still, trying to calm his breathing and listening to the still howling wind, trying to figure out what had woken him. 

Then he heard it, a voice on the wind. It was calling his name, howling it. 

It was haunting, it had Andrej frozen on his bedroll. 

“You will pay for the sins of your forefathers,” the voice said. “You will pay with your life, just like everyone else of your blood.”

After that the voice stopped. The wind and rain died down. 

Andrej reached over and woke Jan, whispering the counter spell into his hand. 

“Time to switch?” Jan asked in a mumble, sitting up. “It’s stopped, you could just sleep.” 

Andrej explained about the voice on the wind. 

“Only a very powerful wizard could have done that,” Jan said. “The three of us alone don’t have the power or the supplies to take them on.”

Andrej agreed. “We need to pack up and continue on. Now.”

“I’ll wake Ondrej and Tyler, you wake Alex,” Jan said as he climbed from the tent. 

Andrej crawled over to Alex and took his hand, the next thing he knew he was on his back and Alex was over him, holding a knife to his throat. 

For an instant Andrej thought the wizard had somehow charmed Alex but almost immediately realized dawned in Alex’s eyes and he dropped the knife, babbling an apology a little too loud. 

Andrej sat up and took his hand, whispering the counter spell that would return his hearing. 

“I’m so sorry, Andrej. You startled me since I couldn’t hear,” Alex said, cupping Andrej’s face. 

“It’s ok, zlatíčko moje,” Andrej said, allowing himself to be kissed. 

Andrej could hear Jan, or one of the others moving toward their tent so he broke off the kiss. 

“We must pack and leave, now. I will explain everything as we pack,” Andrej said. 

As they packed the camp up Andrej filled in Tyler and Ondrej. 

“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?” Tyler asked. 

“No, he couldn’t have been,” Ondrej explained. “Elves don’t dream like humans. We have good dreams, or prophetic dreams. Andrej can tell the difference.”

“Oh,” Tyler said, pausing and staring at them. 

“Keep moving,” Ondrej told him. 

“Anything you say,” Tyler said with a wink. 

Jan made a sound like he was throwing up as he loaded his horse. 

“Knock it off,” Andrej said, trying to hold back a laugh. 

They loaded the horses and set off down the dark road. The sky was beginning to lighten, Andrej had gotten more sleep than he realized. 

The rain hadn’t started again, neither had the wind and that made them all nervous. 

As the sun was coming over the horizon a town came into view. 

“Oh,” Tyler said. “That’s Clovelly. We made way more progress than I thought we did.”

“Clovelly? You’re sure?” Andrej asked. 

Tyler affirmed. 

“We’re less than half a day from the border of the Forest,” Andrej said. 

“Yes, I was planning on us changing horses here and heading for the border at a dead run,” Tyler said. “But these horses rested the whole night and we didn’t push them yesterday, I think they’ll be good. I don’t want to take the time to change horses.”

The others agreed even though they could feel the air changing, feel a magic presence coming for them. 

“We get through this town and run for the border,” Jan confirmed. 

The sleepy town was coming awake as they rode through. Most of them recognized Tyler so they were greeted, but not stopped. 

As soon as they left the town they urged their horses into a gallop, making a run for the border. 

“Will they be ok?” Tyler asked, yelling over the wind whistling in their ears as they picked up speed. 

“I think so, as long as no one stands in their way if they come through the town,” Ondrej answered. 

They ran, as fast as they could, resting the horses only when they had to, and snuck looks behind themselves. They didn’t see anything but they could feel something closing in, somewhere out of view. 

Close to midday they neared the border Andrej looked over his shoulder and saw something, it was moving fast, too fast to be a horse. It almost looked like it was flying. 

“Faster,” Andrej yelled, urging his horse and companions on. 

The horses picked up speed, Andrej wasn’t sure if it was his urging or if they could feel the evil bearing down on them. 

At the border Andrej risked looking behind him, there was a dark figure flying toward them about four foot off the ground. 

After crossing the border Andrej pulled up and turned around to watch what happened when it got to the border. He would have time to flee, but he was back in his kingdom, if he needed to he could draw on the power of his people. 

The figure was stopped at the border, like it ran into an invisible wall, it let out an inhuman scream. Andrej wasn’t sure if it was in pain or mad. 

Andrej tried to urge his horse closer but it refused so Andrej dismounted, throwing his reins to Jan. 

“Andrej,” Jan warned. 

Andrej waved him off. “Budu opatrný,” Andrej reassured him. 

Andrej stopped about four feet from the border. “Who are you?”

The figure hissed in response, cloak hiding all of its features as it hovered a few inches off of the ground. 

“Show yourself,” Andrej commanded. 

Another hiss is all he got in response. 

Ondrej and Jan joined him and they moved forward as one. 

“Tell me who you are!” Andrej yelled. 

The figure turned and fled as they drew near, it turned to the side and flew over the fields. 

“Did you see anything? Feel anything?” Andrej asked. 

“Just evil,” Jan said. 

Ondrej agreed. “I couldn’t even feel race.”

“You can do that? Feel what race someone is?” Alex asked, leading the horses towards them with Tyler. 

“Sometimes,” Ondrej answered. 

“Let’s get going. We have a few miles to cover before we get to the Forest,” Jan said. 

They remounted and moved towards the tree line at more sedate pace, letting the horses rest. 

“So uh, are we assuming this is all the same thing right? The murderer, the voice in the wind, and whatever the hell that flying cloak was?” Alex asked. 

“Bůh, I hope so,” Andrej said, he started laughing and couldn’t stop for a few moments, making the others laugh along. 

“Sorry, I’m relieved that we made it,” Andrej said, finally sobering. 

Jan patted his shoulder from the horse next to him. 

They made it to the tree line in due time. Once they were under the shade of a giant oak Andrej whistled an odd whistle. 

After a few seconds Elves began climbing out of the trees around them and walking over to where they’d dismounted their horses. 

Once twelve of them had gathered around Andrej cleared his throat. 

“We need to strengthen the border, you all saw that?” He asked. 

All of the Elves nodded. 

“Do any of you have any idea what it was?”

They all shook their heads. 

“Us either,” Andrej said. “We’re going to change horses and continue on to the palace. I’ll send reinforcements and some others to help strengthen the spells.”

Andrej turned to lead his horse away. 

“Můj Pane,” one of the Elves called. 

Andrej stopped and turned back to him. 

“The King?” 

“I’m the King now,” Andrej said solemnly. “All will be revealed soon enough, but I must speak to my mother first.” 

The group around him nodded. 

“My wife’s father?” Another of them, Aleš asked. 

Andrej shook his head. “I’m so sorry. Please give your wife my condolences. I will visit to explain what happened. Go to her,” Andrej said. 

“Thank you Můj Pri... Můj Králi,” Aleš said before turning and running off into the woods. 

The group followed at a more sedate pace, finding a barn. They tacked up horses and set out for the palace. 

They rode for another few hours, into the heart of the Forest. 

The closer they got to the palace the more homes they passed the more people came out to watch them pass, excited at first then sorrowful when they saw how few of the party were returning. They knew Andrej wouldn’t return with strangers, and without his father unless something tragic had happened. 

Andrej felt a place in his heart fill up that he hadn’t realized was empty when the palace came into view. Looking up at the huge structure that somehow looked like it had sprouted from the trees itself he picked up his pace. 

Andrej leapt off of his horse when he saw his mother standing at the top of the stairs and threw the reins to one of the grooms waiting for them. 

He ran up the stairs and embraced his mother. 

“Mami, promiň,” Andrej said, bending down to bury his face in her shoulder. 

His mother turned and led him in the front door and into her reception room. 

This room had always been his favorite, it was a two story niche in the oldest tree in the Forest. The entire palace had been built around this one room. 

”Moje dítě, please tell me what happened. I-,” she stumbled over her words, something Andrej had never seen her do. “I felt it, but please tell me.”

“First Mami, let me introduce you. This is Tyler, Duke of Coeur d'Alene, he is Ondrej’s…”

“My betrothed,” Ondrej filled in, hesitantly, looked at Andrej. 

Andrej nodded. “His betrothed.”

Andrej turned to Alex and brought him forward to meet his mother. “And this is Alex, my lover.”

Alex made a strangled sound but reached out to take his mother’s hands when she extended them. 

“They wouldn’t have made it home if it weren’t for you, Moonchild,” the Queen said. 

Alex’s eyes went wide, as did everyone else in the room. 

No one had a chance to say anything before the door flew open. 

Erik walked in and rushed to Jan, wrapping him in a hug. 

“Jan’s husband,” Andrej whispered to Alex.

“Erik, we’re about to get an explanation about what has happened,” the Queen said. “Please join us.”

It was a few moments before Erik released Jan and the two of them joined the rest of the party, who had already taken seats around an ornately carved coffee table. 

The group took turns telling the story of the King’s murder and their subsequent fleeng of the of Toronto and Onterio, and their journey home. 

Andrej watched his mother’s face get more and more pinched as they spoke about whatever pursued them to the boundary. 

“That does sound like wizards your grandfather defeated. I was very young, but I remember my father coming home from the battle and telling me stories,” she said. “I have some of his old journals in our personal library. I will retrieve them for you, along with your grandfather’s journals.”

“Thank you, Mami,” Andrej said. “The border guards need reinforcements immediately, and anyone with strong magic who can strengthen the border spells.”

“I’ll take care of it,” she promised. “Now, you all should rest. I will have meals sent to your rooms.”

Andrej embraced his mother again before leaving the room with the group. 

“Ondrej, tomorrow please begin setting up times for me to visit the families of the other men we lost, I’ll begin the day after tomorrow,” Andrej asked as they walked down the hallway to the stairs. 

Ondrej confirmed that he would. 

“Do you need anything from me?” Jan asked from under the arm Erik had slung across his shoulders. 

“Tomorrow I want you to start going through the official records, and I’ll start on the personal accounts,” Andrej said. 

“I’ll help him,” Erik said, squeezing Jan again. 

“Before you do that, can you compile a list of everyone who is still alive from the time of the battle? And another of anyone who lived through it and still has family here? I want to track down their journals if ours don’t have anything pertinent.”

Erik nodded as they began climbing the stairs. 

“Erik works in the records room,” Andrej explained to Alex and Tyler. 

They broke off in pairs and Andrej led Alex to his rooms. 

“Wow,” Alex said, walking to the open wall and the balcony beyond. 

Andrej laughed. “Yeah, the view is pretty amazing.”

“This is like, the ultimate tree house,” Alex said. 

Andrej laughed so hard he fell over onto his bed. “It  _ is _ the ultimate treehouse!”

Alex walked up between Andrej’s parted knees and leaned over him making him sober instantly. 

“Your mother, she called me a… a uh…”

“A Moonchild,” Andrej supplied. 

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Am I really?”

“You didn’t know?” Andrej asked. 

Alex stood up. He paced to the other side of the room and back before speaking. 

“No. Maybe. I suspected, but I didn’t know,” Alex said, still pacing. 

This was the closest Alex had ever gotten to revealing anything about himself. 

“You never, changed?” Andrej asked, hesitantly. 

Alex stopped short. “No!” Alex all but yelled. “Actually, I don’t know. Andrej, I don’t know.”

Andrej got up and hugged Alex, he held him and rocked him back and forth, completely bewildered as to why Alex was so upset, but he was so Andrej was going to hold him. 

He led Alex to the chaise on the balcony and sat him down, letting Alex curl into his side. 

“Do you want to explain to me why you’re so upset?” Andrej asked a few moments later. 

Alex nodded and sat up, clearing his throat. “Where I’m from, it wasn’t ok to be from mixed parentage,” Alex said. 

“I thought you were from Onterio,” Andrej said with a small smile. 

“You know I’m not, but thank you for pretending to believe me,” Alex said. “God there’s so much to tell you. I don’t want to lay this all on you with everything you have going on. I want to help you solve this.”

Andrej sighed. “I think you should tell me anyway, it will be a welcome distraction.”

Alex’s eyes went wide. “Fuck. My story might actually have something to do with this whole thing.”

“Really?” Andrej asked, shocked. 

“King Bill killed my father, and my uncle, he maimed both of my sisters and kidnapped me,” Alex said.

Andrej stared at him, blinking. “You just thought that this might be pertinent?”

“I’m sorry!” Alex all but yelled. “I was in the middle of trying to enact revenge for something that happened twenty years ago when I had to walk away from all the work I’ve put in to get you guys out of the city.”

Andrej was shocked, he stared at Alex open mouthed. “I’m sorry. But thank you for helping us.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to talk to you like that,” Alex said. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok. Clearly we have a lot to talk about,” Andrej said wrapping his arms around Alex. 

“I’ll try to keep it short but hit all the highlights,” Alex said, cuddling into Andrej’s side again. 

“I was nine when King Bill came to visit my father, he was King Over the Mountain,” Alex said. 

“King Matthew?” Andrej asked. 

Alex nodded. 

“No one ever knew what happened to him, or you, the little prince,” Andrej said. 

“My mother died giving birth to a baby that didn’t make it when I was little, so she wasn’t around. I think that must be where the Moonchild part came from. My father must not have known, he HATED anyone not fully human. King Bill killed my father and attacked my sisters right in front of me then took me and ran for Onterio. 

I managed to run away in the mountains, I nearly froze to death but some mountain sentinels found me. I was too scared to tell them who I was so they kept me and raised me. I was one of them, for a while, but I had always been consumed with revenge. I forged, with the other sentinels help, a Royal letter of recommendation and King Bill welcomed me with open arms. Within hours I had keys to nearly every door in the palace, they put me on guard patrolling the hallway leading up to the Prince and Princess’s wing. 

They assigned me to the Duke, to Tyler, when he came to court then he hired me. I got a lot more freedom working for him because he didn’t actually want me around, he was planning his rebellion and I was planning my revenge. The rest you know.”

“Why didn’t you ever go back to your kingdom? Take your place as Prince?” Alex asked. 

Alex shook his head. “I checked in on my sisters, my aunt ruled until my older sister was old enough to. She’s an amazing Queen, but they’re much smaller politically in the region. I don’t want to upset their balance by going back.”

“Well I don’t think that’s a valid reason, but I guess it’s your choice to make,” Andrej said. 

Alex huffed a sigh. “That’s a problem for another time. Let’s solve yours first.”

Andrej pressed a kiss to the top of Alex’s head. 

The next day Andrej dropped Alex off with Jan and Erik in the records room to start research and met Ondrej in his office. 

“I’ve got two visits set up for today,” Ondrej began. 

“Alex is the lost Prince from Over the Mountain and king Bill killed his father,” Andrej blurted out. 

“Um, wow, good morning,” Ondrej said. 

“Sorry, I needed someone to bounce this off of. Do you think the wizards were controlling him back then? And if they were what would they want with a nine year old boy? They kidnapped him but he escaped and was raised by mountain sentinels,” Andrej said. 

Ondrej was quiet for a moment. “Your mother said he was a Moonchild?”

Andrej nodded. “He didn’t know, he wasn’t raised knowing, even before he was kidnapped.”

Ondrej nodded slowly. “They can be very powerful wizards, maybe they wanted to train him.”

“He thinks that he’s half, at most.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ondrej said. “The power is there.” 

“What about one sibling being more powerful than the others?” Andrej asked. 

“Yes, usually, or their powers are specialized, like us,” Ondrej explained. 

“That could be why they took Alex and left his sisters for dead.”

Ondrej agreed. “Any why they survived after he did.”

That night, lying in bed, Andrej told Alex their theories about his kidnapping. 

“Ok, that makes sense, theoretically. But I don’t have any power,” Alex said, mouthing at Andrej’s collarbone. 

“I think it’s probably latent. You weren’t taught to use it as a child so it lays dormant. It happens to Elvis, or half or quarter Elves raised by full humans who don’t know how to develop their powers,” Andrej explained. 

“So can you help me find my powers?” Alex asked. 

Andrej grimaced. “I’ll be honest, I shouldn’t be your first choice. I am less than patient with that kind of thing. But I can set you up with lessons,” Andrej told Alex with a kiss. 

That’s how they spent the next several weeks, they researched, together and separately, Alex took lessons and tried to find his powers, and Andrej visited the families of those who had fallen. 

Andrej’s mother was working on his coronation, but he talked her into waiting until he figured out how to defeat the wizards because if he were crowned King, officially, he wouldn’t be permitted to go into battle, and he wanted to be there to finish what his grandfather had started. 

So far their research had turned up nothing, they’d exhausted the official records and now they were reading family journals and not learning much except due to an affair Jan and Andrej might be considerably closer related than they thought they were. 

Next they would begin conducting interviews with everyone who had lived through the battle. 

“My great uncle tried to procreate with anything that moved,” Andrej groaned, rubbing his eyes after he tossed aside the journal he’d finished. 

“And I may be living proof of that,” Jan snorted. 

Alex ignored them. “Nothing pertinent?” He asked, picking it up to file to return to the family member they borrowed it from. 

“No, nothing. He hardly mentioned it,” Andrej said. 

“What about this? This is the journal of,” Erik paused and flipped to the inside of the front cover. “Ondrej’s great uncle’s father-in-law. Wait, that's my great grandfather, right?”

“Yes,” Ondrej said, patting Erik’s shoulder. 

“I’ve read so many of these things lately I don’t even remember who I’m related to,” Erik said, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“It’s ok,” Jan said, rubbing his shoulders.

“Yes, it’s fine, but can you tell us what you read?” Andrej snorted. 

“Oh right.” He flipped back to the page he’d been reading. “ _ Every single enemy fought to the death, even though we tried to spare them… _ ”

Andrej cut him off. “Yeah we know, that’s what everyone said!”

“If you would let me finish, there’s more!” Erik huffed. 

Andrej held his hands up in surrender. 

“As I was saying,” Erik cleared his throat before continuing. “ _ Every single enemy fought to the death, even though we tried to spare them. Everyone on the field died that day, except for the young Moonchild we found huddled in the back of a tent. She was pregnant and happily surrendered to our forces. She had been horribly mistreated by the wizards, bewitched, and gave us any information we requested. In the end we sent her to the Kingdom of Toronto for protection. She had no family and many of their court have Moonchild genes, so they will be able to help care for the baby _ .”

“This girl, she’s probably our missing link!” Andrej said. “Tyler, you were raised in that court right? I know it’s a couple generations before you but how many Moonchildren were at court?”

“A few, honestly. Does it say her name anywhere?” Tyler asked. 

Erik scanned the next few pages before speaking again. “Ellia,” he said finally. “No surname or title.”

Tyler perked up. “Ellia, yes of course. She had twins, a boy and girl. They both stayed at court and had a child of their own, a boy and girl respectively. Ellia’s grandson stayed at court, he’s King Bill’s best friend, Gary, and her granddaughter married the King Over the Mountain before I was born.”

Alex gasped. “My mother! Was her name Cynthia?”

Tyler nodded. “Yes. You’re the lost prince?” Tyler asked, eyes wide. 

Alex confirmed his identity. Tyler got up and walked over to him and put a hand on each shoulder. 

“He really did kill your father didn’t he? That’s what you were doing, getting your revenge, shit. We should have been helping each other instead of sneaking around all those months,” Tyler said. 

Alex nodded and swallowed hard. 

“I’m sorry to break up your tender moment, but we need information on the grandson. I think we’re all thinking the same thing, he’s our guy,” Jan said. “He inherited the weird voice control thing.”

Tyler returned to his chair. “His name is Gary Bettman, he and King Bill grew up together. He has manipulated him, for as long as I can remember, I didn’t know how he was manipulating him.” Tyler explained. 

“We need everything,” Ondrej said. “How far did your rebellion get?”

“I grabbed everything while we were at my estate. I was worried Bill would find out about it and raid it, I didn’t think I would actually need it. It’s all in Ondrej’s room, I’ll go get it now,” Tyler said in a rush before running out of the room. 

Ondrej turned to Alex and narrowed his eyes. “You know this information probably could have helped us work this out earlier.”

“I told Andrej when we got here, once I realized it might be related,” Alex said standing up to face Ondrej.

Andrej rolled his eyes. “Knock it off you two. We have more important things to work on.”

Andrej’s statement took the wind out of them, they both sank down into their seats again. 

Tyler returned soon after and they poured over his notes and slowly a plan formed, a battle would result in too many losses, this could only be accomplished by stealth. 

A month later Tyler, Duke of Coeur d'Alene, and his guard entered the city of Toronto through the front gate and went directly to his townhouse. 

Roughly twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door, which Tyler’s butler answered. 

“My Lord, the King requests your presence, immediately,” the butler announced. 

“Well, I shouldn’t keep him waiting now should I?” Tyler said, standing up from the settee where he’d been sitting. 

Tyler ordered his carriage to come around, he’d told them not to unharness the horses because he expected the summons to the castle. 

At the Castle they were immediately ushered into the throne room where King Bill and Prince Pierre were waiting for them. Gary was there too, of course. 

“Lord Tyler, I was surprised to hear of you back in the city so soon,” the King said. 

“I’m not sure why, I’ve never missed a council meeting before,” Tyler said. 

“You left so quickly with you Elvin friends, I wasn’t sure when we would be seeing you again,” King Bill prodded. 

“Just one, and you know Elves, he tired of me soon enough and took off,” Tyler shrugged. “Was there something you needed from me? I assumed I would see you tomorrow at the meeting.”

“We wanted to check on your well-being,” Pierre said. “As Father said, you left so quickly and I’m sure you heard about the attack here that day. We weren’t able to find you, we sent messengers to your estate.”

“Which one?” 

“Pardon?” The prince said, trying to cover up the irate noise that Gary had made. 

“Which estate?” Tyler asked. “As you know I hold many titles and therefore many estates. You didn’t think I would take my short term lover to Coeur d'Alene? My mother is there!”

“I suppose not,” Pierre grumbled. 

“Will you join us for dinner tonight?” King Bill asked Tyler. 

“I apologize, sire, I have a long standing dinner appointment with the Duke of Gaspé the night before every counsel meeting,” Tyler informed him. 

The King nodded. “Yes, of course how could I forget? You carry on your fathers’ tradition.”

“Thank you, sire,” Tyler said with a bow before leaving the throne room. 

Once they were safely back in Tyler’s townhouse he and Alex finally breathed a sigh of relief, Gary and Bill hadn’t killed them on sight and Andrej and Ondrej were waiting for them, along with Jan, Erik, and Cedric. 

“How did everything go? Smooth?” Alex asked. 

They all nodded. “Not a thing out of place,” Cedric declared. 

The group spent most of the night going over their plan, again, then once more to make sure they hadn’t missed anything now that they were in the city, around dawn they finally went to bed. 

“I’m glad they gave you a guest room, the bed in my guard room wouldn’t be big enough for the two of us,” Alex told Andrej as they undressed. 

“No room for activities?” Andrej asked with a wink. 

“No room for your long ass legs,” Alex snickered. 

“You love my long ass legs,” Andrej fake pouted. 

Alex nodded. “I really do. I love when you have room to spread them.”

“Oh. Smooth.”

Alex looked especially proud of himself. “I thought so.”

“Well, get over here and help me spread them,” Andrej laughed. 

Alex jumped onto the bed waving the small vial he had pulled from his bag. 

“I brought this because I know it’s your favorite.”

“My hero,” Andrej said, rolling his eyes. 

Alex leaned down and kissed the smirk off of his face. 

Andrej wrapped his arms and legs around Alex, pulling him on top. 

“Pushy,” Alex huffed, out of breath. 

“I’m about to be even pushier. Get the vial,” Andrej said, searching around for where Alex had dropped it. 

“So soon? What about…”

Andrej interrupted him. “We can go slow next time, right now I need you.”

Alex nodded and grabbed the vial, pulling the cork out with his teeth and slicking his fingers with the contents. 

“You’ve got to let me go if you want me to put my fingers inside you,” Alex said, pressing a kiss to a sharp cheekbone. 

Andrej let his legs fall open, releasing Alex and exposing himself at the same time. 

“Come on,” Andrej said. 

Alex didn’t waste any time, even to spout out a retort, he circled Andrej’s hole with the oil before pushing inside. He didn’t stop for the entire long stretch of his finger, and moments later he added a second 

“Too fast?” Alex asked as Andrej wiggled in his arms. 

“N-no,” Andrej said breathlessly. “Give me some oil.”

Alex passed the vial and Andrej reached down and slicked Alex’s cock, working him to full hardness. 

“I’m ready,” Andrej said, squeezing around Alex’s fingers. 

“Are you sure? That’s only two.”

“I’m sure Alex, please,” Andrej asked, arching into his hand. 

In one fluid motion Alex extracted his fingers and lined his cock up. He moved slow, but steady, holding down Andrej’s hips as he tried to rush him, shushing his desperate noises. 

“Shh, it’s ok. I know you need it, let me give it to you,” Alex said. 

Once he was fully seated he rocked his hips gently, giving Andrej time to adjust to his size. 

“Ok, ok,” Andrej said. “I’m really ready now.”

Alex leaned forward and captured his lips again, nibbling gently, as he rocked his hips harder, lengthening his stroke. 

Alex broke the kiss and pushed himself up onto his knees and loomed over Andrej, running his hands over the long body in front of him. 

Andrej nudged Alex with his knee and lifted his foot from the bed. 

Alex helped him lift his leg, leaning forward so Andrej’s ankle was hooked over his shoulder, then the other leg. 

“Ready?” Alex asked, a teasing smile on his lips. 

“Finally,” Andrej huffed. 

Alex leaned forward, folding Andrej’s thighs towards his chest and pushed inside him again. 

He didn’t hesitate this time, he fucked into Andrej hard and fast, exactly how he wanted him to. 

Andrej bit down on his own wrist trying to stifle his moans. He snaked his other hand down and took hold of his cock. 

“Fuck, right there, please right there,” Andrej begged. 

Alex shortened his stroke, driving into the place that made Andrej cry out with every thrust. 

Moments later Andrej tugged himself to orgasm, tightening around Alex and pushing him over the edge as well. 

It took everything in Alex not to collapse on Andrej, folding him completely in half. He rocked back on his knees and pushed a hand through his hair before helping Andrej lower his legs back to the bed. 

Alex knee walked to the edge of the bed to climb off. Near the end of the bed there was a dresser with a water basin and a rag. He made quick work of cleaning them up, and collapsed into Andrej’s arms, resting his head on Andrej’s chest. 

“I love you,” Andrej said, pressing a kiss to Alex’s forehead. 

“I love you, too,” Alex said before drifting off to sleep. 

The next day Tyler and Cedric walked into the council chambers together and took their places opposite one another near the end of the rectangular twenty person table. 

Council meetings always started at exactly one in the afternoon. At ten past their plan would begin. 

Tyler was surprised by how calm he felt. Their plan would work, they would prevail. 

The clock in the square chimed one o’clock and King Bill called the council meeting to order. 

Almost immediately he began ranting that they must do something about the Kingdom of Tampa, he claimed they were overstepping their borders and invading Onterio. 

“Why?” Cedric asked. 

The King paused, stunned that he’d been questioned. 

“What?” Bill asked. 

“Why would Tampa invade Onterio? What do we have that they want? They’re richer than Onterio, they’re bigger, and they're peaceful people,” Cedric said. 

The other counsel members glanced around. They all knew this, the majority of them were part of Tyler’s rebellion, but not in on this plan. 

The rebellion group had only managed to avoid detection by not speaking out against the King, so they were all bewildered about why Cedric would do it now. 

Gary was at King Bill’s right hand and his face had gone red. Tyler started wondering if he might actually blow a blood vessel. 

As the King was winding up to begin yelling the clock struck ten after and all four doors, one on each wall, opened and an Elf walked in each one, with Alex following Andrej in. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The King screeched. 

Gary’s loud bellow of “You!” drown everyone out. 

Andrej snapped a finger and all four doors slammed shut again, with their locks falling into place. 

Pierre jumped up as though to rush at Andrej but he was held into his seat by the nobleman next to him. 

“Silence,” Andrej said, the room fell silent but the King’s mouth was still moving as though he were screaming obscenities but was unable to make any noise. He’d worked hard to master that spell, it was incredibly difficult but it was the only way to truly silence a wizard. 

Gary started to rise from his seat, holding his arm out, started to cast a spell, they’d managed to catch him off guard but if they didn’t secure him quickly he would be able to stop them, even without his voice. 

Jan and Erik grabbed him and pushed him back into his seat, both whispering to cast spells of their own. 

Ropes materialized from nowhere and secured Gary to his chair. A piece of fabric forced itself into his mouth and tied around his head as if by invisible fingers. 

Jan and Erik secured the King and the Prince as well. 

“They’re bewitched,” Jan told Andrej of the two noblemen. 

“We’ll have to break it,” Andrej said. 

Tyler and Ceddy stood to join Alex and the Elves. “Does anyone have a problem with this?” Tyler asked. 

Everyone at the table shook their heads no. Andrej snapped his fingers again and the counsel members sighed in relief, realizing they were able to speak again. 

“Tyler, why didn’t you warn us about this?” The Marquee of Saint Paul asked. “We would have helped.”

“Sorry, Ryan,” Tyler said, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by to join Ondrej next to the King where he was trying to break the charm on him. “We had to move fast when some new information came to light about Gary here.”

“He’s bewitching them?” another nobleman, Steven asked. 

“Yes,” Andrej confirmed. “We have no idea how much of what they’ve done was done willingly and how much was done under force by charms. He’s a wizard, descendant from the wizards my grandfather defeated in the Seven Weeks War.”

There were several gasps heard around the room. 

Erik pulled Gary back from the table as he struggled and tried to curse them. With every move he made the ropes holding him got tighter.

Alex walked over to stand in front of him. 

“No!” Gary said, it was muffled but understandable. 

Alex had let his beard grow in fully, making him look exactly like his father. 

“You know me?” Alex asked. 

Gary shook his head no, fiercely. 

“You do, you know me,” Alex said. 

Gary denied it again. 

“I am the son of your cousin, I am the Prince over the Mountain, you know who I am!” Alex roared, his eyes flickered red as his fist pounded on the table with each word. 

There were more gasps heard around the room, and some whispers. 

“He must be,” one said. 

“He looks just like him!” Said another. 

Tyler shushed them. 

“You killed my father,” Alex growled. 

Gary shook his head again. 

“You might not have held the sword but I’m sure you’re responsible,” Alex said. 

“I need help,” Ondrej said, breaking the silence that had been lingering after Alex spoke. “I need more power.”

Jan and Erik both reached out the hands but Ondrej pushed them away. 

“No. Alex, give me your hand,” Ondrej said. 

“I don’t know how to break a curse,” Alex said. 

“I just need your power,” Ondrej reassured him. “Give me your hand.”

Alex joined hands with Ondrej and Ondrej cast his counter spell again. 

It broke, easily and the King slumped over, unconscious.

They turned to the Prince who started wimpering and trying to cower in the chair he was sitting in. 

“Shut up, Pierre,” Tyler said, smacking him in the back of the head. 

Ondrej, and Alex, broke the spell on Pierre and he slumped over as well.

“What now? They were bewitched, will you free them?” Ryan asked. 

“Not until we know exactly how much of a hold Gary had on them,” Andrej explained. “If they truly had no control over their actions then yes, otherwise they will go on trial with him.”

“And him?” Steven asked, pointing to Gary. 

“First we bind his powers,” Ondrej said. “Then he will face the justice of the Kingdom Over the Mountains, this land, Tampa, and the Forest for his crimes.”

“And Onterio? What becomes of this country in the meantime?” Ryan asked, looking nervous. 

Tyler stepped forward to answer. “Steven is the next in line for the throne. I put it before the counsel today. We should put him in charge temporarily until we can assess the King and the Prince. All those in favor say, ’Aye’.”

A resounding “Aye” was heard around the room. 

Tyler clapped Steven on the shoulder. “Congratulations, I think you’re going to be, King,” he said. 

Epilogue 

Alex fiddled with his tunic. “I’m too nervous, I don’t want to do this, I’m not ready.”

“Too bad, your sisters traveled from Over the Mountain all the way to the Forest to meet you and be at my coronation. You’re going to meet them,” Andrej told him, smacking his hands away. 

The doors opened and a footman announced Alex’s sisters before they entered the room. 

Alex didn’t know what to do, he took a few steps forward before hesitating. 

Rachel saw him and gasped, reaching out to grab her sister. “He looks just like Papa.”

They both rushed to him, wrapping their arms around him

Alex laughed and tried to hug them both at once, he beamed at Andrej over their heads. 

“I told you so,” Andrej mouthed at him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you have questions I have so much mythology for this story in my head!


End file.
